Preseason Recap

We are now 6 days away from the official start of the 2012-13 season. Last night the Devils finished up their preseason schedule, and it wasn’t a bad showing. They went 3-1 against two divisional rivals and a familiar East Division foe. For those that missed it, here’s a little review of how they fared:

Traveling to the Phantoms/Flyers training facility in Voorhees, NJ, the Devils got the week off to a good start with a win over their rivals to the north (or, in this case, south. Well in the state of New Jersey anyway). Mike Sislo and David Wohlberg each scored twice, while newcomer Raman Hrabarenka added the fifth goal. Brandon Burlon and Harri Pesonen each contributed two assists. Keith Kinkaid and rookie Scott Wedgewood each shared time in net, combining for 45 saves.

The strong play moved on the following night to Cromwell, CT, with a victory over the Whale. Burlon, Pesonen and Darcy Zajac all scored, Hrabarenka contributed two more assists, and Jeff Frazee and Maxime Clermont combined for 18 saves.

In a closed to the public scrimmage Friday afternoon (the only time you’ll ever see a Devil-Phantom matchup that quiet), the Devils won their third straight and their second win over the Phantoms in a 4 day span. Both goals were scored shorthanded, courtesy of camp invitee Scott Parse and Jacob Josefson. Parse and Adam Larsson also contributed one assist apiece. Kinkaid and Wedgewood split time in net, combining for 25 saves.

To finish off the preseason slate, the Devils traveled to Binghamton to take on the Senators. Frazee drew the start and played 40 minutes, stopping 24 of 28 Senator shots. Kinkaid took over in the third and played solid, making 14 saves on 15 shots. The Devils fell behind 2-0 after 1 period on goals by Derek Grant and Corey Cowick. After allowing an early power play marker to fall into a 3-0 hole, former Senator Bobby Butler notched his first goal of the preseason (on the man advantage) to bring the Devils to within 3-1. The Senators responded with another power play goal to regain a 3 goal advantage, but Mattias Tedenby scored even strength to reduce the deficit again to two. Binghamton went back up by 3 on an Andre Petersson goal early in the third, but Mike Sislo answered late with his team leading 4th goal for another two goal deficit. But that’s as close as they would get, as Mark Stone scored an empty netter to seal a 6-3 win.

A few links to pass on related to the week:

Fire and Ice has the full preseason scoring list here, along with the news that Raman Hrabarenka has officially signed an AHL deal after a strong camp showing.

In Lou We Trust is counting down the top 25 prospects under 25 (so far updated to #21).

Stay tuned…next entry a photo gallery from my first in person game of the season in Binghamton…